I used to have to walk this path every day to classes. On the way I would pass this tree that must be absolutely ancient. Its trunk is almost 3 feet wide and you can see that it was cut down to nothing but a stump years ago. There are pieces of metal driven into it that have now become part of the tree. Somehow in spite of all the storms it has endured, even after being cut down to a mere stump, this tree rose up again and grew to stand tall again. I always looked at it before my exams and told myself if that tree could survive all it had been through, I could handle a few impossible exams.